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It was the first time in 21 years a sitting governor participated in the King Apple Parade.

Before joining the procession, McCrory presented local businessman Jeff Miller with the state's highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, during a short ceremony outside Boyd Automotive on Asheville Highway.

McCrory praised how involved Miller and his wife, Tamara, are in the community, “with business, with hospitals, with civics. But the thing that impressed me most about Jeff was his care and his commitment to the greatest generation, and that's the World War II veterans.”

He described how Miller had come to his office when he was mayor of Charlotte to lobby for help in flying America's WWII vets to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., a campaign Miller founded called HonorAir.

“I kind of went, 'Who is this guy?'” McCrory said. “And what I found out is, he's a guy who makes things happen. He got Senator Dole involved, he got your community involved, he got the Charlotte community involved, he's got all of North Carolina involved.”

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine was created in 1963 to “honor individuals who have made a significant impact toward creating a better North Carolina.” Among its more than 15,000 recipients are Tarheels such as Bob Timberlake, Michael Jordan and the Rev. Billy Graham.

“I'll accept this for a lot of people that took a little idea and turned it into a reality,” said Miller, sharing credit with “a great community who embraced it and made it real, the Rotarians who took it and made it bigger” and the governor and other officials for not ejecting him from their offices.

Republicans show support

Roughly 50 members of the Henderson County Republican Party, along with N.C. Rep. Chris Whitmire, cheered the governor's departure from Boyd's parking lot and marched behind him along the parade route.

Seated with her husband, Phil, under the shade of an oak near Bruce Drysdale Elementary, Sheila Carnes whistled loudly as the governor's motorcade rumbled by. Phil Carnes said he was thrilled the governor was in town for the parade and award ceremony.

“I think he's a great leader,” he said. “When he ran the city of Charlotte, he did so almost single-handedly for years. He's got a lot of integrity.”

McCrory got his share of applause and smiles along the parade route, although it was hard to discern whether it was all directed at him and not the popular grand marshal just ahead of him, county Cooperative Extension Director Marvin Owings Jr.

But scattered boos, catcalls and protest signs followed the governor along his route, too. Billy and Neela Munoz organized a group of 20 protesters at the corner of Second Avenue and Main, holding up signs that said “First in flight, last in education” and “Let's move forward, not back.”

“We wanted to be peaceful but poignant,” said Neela Munoz. “We wanted to let McCrory know that even in smaller towns like this, we are thinking about his policies and they affect us, they have an impact on us – and not a very positive one.”

McCrory defends veto

McCrory took a slight political risk in riding in the parade. His Aug. 15 veto of a bill that would relax background checks for migrant laborers got a negative reaction from local apple farmers and others in the agricultural community.

House Bill 786 allows farmers and other employers to exempt seasonal workers from the E-verify program for a long as nine months, an increase from the current 90 days. Area apple, berry and greenery growers say the bill is critical to stabilizing their labor force.

McCrory said the bill doesn't even reference the word “farming,” and was broadened to allow industries such as manufacturing, retail and hotels to take advantage of a loophole and hire seasonal help without carefully documenting their residency status.

“And that will have serious ramifications on job creation for North Carolinians and for tracking down fraud, which we use E-verify to do,” McCrory said in an interview before Monday's parade. “Only E-verify designates the real identification of people applying for jobs.”

The governor said he'd like to adapt the bill “where it's for farmers only or make the seasons a reasonable season (in) which a loophole couldn't be created for other areas. They didn't do that, and they didn't do that because other industries hopped on what was supposed to be a farming bill. And they did it at the last moment. I mean, this bill was passed very late in the night … with little debate.”

N.C. Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, said he expects the legislature will override the governor's veto this Wednesday. He pointed out the bill passed both houses of the legislature by large margins and with broad bipartisan support, far in excess of the 60 percent supermajorities necessary for an override.

Asked about a disaster declaration sought by flood-damaged farmers, McCrory said he will consider the request from the State Emergency Board this week.

“I'm working with (Congressman) Mark Meadows right now – we discussed this this morning – about how the feds can help us, especially the farmers,” McCrory said. “Also, our DOT, one reason I put so much money in the reserves was so we could fix these (flood-damaged) roads quickly.”

Vendors happy with sales

While McCrory's participation in the parade was an exceptional event, many in the crowd – which festival organizers estimated at 250,000 over the four days – were oblivious that the governor was in the motorcade. Bill and Marty Slack drove three hours from their home in Athens, Ga. to enjoy the Apple Festival, but missed McCrory's presence as they sat in the shade of a store on Main.

“We attend the Garden Jubilee every year,” said Bill Slack. “We were curious to compare the two.” He said the crowds were “more manageable” during the Jubilee, and the weather more temperate than the mid-80s reached Monday. His favorite aspect of the Apple Festival?

“Air conditioned buildings,” he joked.

This was the second year in a row McCrory has attended the Apple Festival. Last year, as a Republican nominee, McCrory worked the crowd at the Kiwanis Club's pancake breakfast.

Gov. Jim Martin was the last sitting governor to attend the Apple Festival, joining President George H.W. Bush here in 1992.

While not setting any attendance records, this year's festival was popular enough to keep vendors happy and crowds manageable, said Executive Director David Nicholson. He said the great weather, with all but one storm skirting Main Street, helped boost sales.

“I had four-day vendors who sold all of their wares in three days,” he said. “I even had a food vendor who'd brought extra this year, and by the middle of yesterday afternoon, had sold everything they brought.”

<p>Perched in a yellow '68 Cutlass convertible, Gov. Pat McCrory rode down Main Street waving at a crowd of thousands Monday to cap off the 67th annual N.C. Apple Festival.</p><p>It was the first time in 21 years a sitting governor participated in the King Apple Parade.</p><p>Before joining the procession, McCrory presented local businessman Jeff Miller with the state's highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, during a short ceremony outside Boyd Automotive on Asheville Highway.</p><p>McCrory praised how involved Miller and his wife, Tamara, are in the community, “with business, with hospitals, with civics. But the thing that impressed me most about Jeff was his care and his commitment to the greatest generation, and that's the World War II veterans.”</p><p>He described how Miller had come to his office when he was mayor of Charlotte to lobby for help in flying America's WWII vets to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., a campaign Miller founded called HonorAir.</p><p>“I kind of went, 'Who is this guy?'” McCrory said. “And what I found out is, he's a guy who makes things happen. He got Senator Dole involved, he got your community involved, he got the Charlotte community involved, he's got all of North Carolina involved.”</p><p>The Order of the Long Leaf Pine was created in 1963 to “honor individuals who have made a significant impact toward creating a better North Carolina.” Among its more than 15,000 recipients are Tarheels such as Bob Timberlake, Michael Jordan and the Rev. Billy Graham.</p><p>“I'll accept this for a lot of people that took a little idea and turned it into a reality,” said Miller, sharing credit with “a great community who embraced it and made it real, the Rotarians who took it and made it bigger” and the governor and other officials for not ejecting him from their offices.</p><p><b>Republicans show support</b></p><p>Roughly 50 members of the Henderson County Republican Party, along with N.C. Rep. Chris Whitmire, cheered the governor's departure from Boyd's parking lot and marched behind him along the parade route. </p><p>Seated with her husband, Phil, under the shade of an oak near Bruce Drysdale Elementary, Sheila Carnes whistled loudly as the governor's motorcade rumbled by. Phil Carnes said he was thrilled the governor was in town for the parade and award ceremony.</p><p>“I think he's a great leader,” he said. “When he ran the city of Charlotte, he did so almost single-handedly for years. He's got a lot of integrity.”</p><p>McCrory got his share of applause and smiles along the parade route, although it was hard to discern whether it was all directed at him and not the popular grand marshal just ahead of him, county Cooperative Extension Director Marvin Owings Jr.</p><p>But scattered boos, catcalls and protest signs followed the governor along his route, too. Billy and Neela Munoz organized a group of 20 protesters at the corner of Second Avenue and Main, holding up signs that said “First in flight, last in education” and “Let's move forward, not back.”</p><p>“We wanted to be peaceful but poignant,” said Neela Munoz. “We wanted to let McCrory know that even in smaller towns like this, we are thinking about his policies and they affect us, they have an impact on us – and not a very positive one.”</p><p> <b>McCrory defends veto</b></p><p>McCrory took a slight political risk in riding in the parade. His Aug. 15 veto of a bill that would relax background checks for migrant laborers got a negative reaction from local apple farmers and others in the agricultural community. </p><p>House Bill 786 allows farmers and other employers to exempt seasonal workers from the E-verify program for a long as nine months, an increase from the current 90 days. Area apple, berry and greenery growers say the bill is critical to stabilizing their labor force.</p><p>McCrory said the bill doesn't even reference the word “farming,” and was broadened to allow industries such as manufacturing, retail and hotels to take advantage of a loophole and hire seasonal help without carefully documenting their residency status.</p><p>“And that will have serious ramifications on job creation for North Carolinians and for tracking down fraud, which we use E-verify to do,” McCrory said in an interview before Monday's parade. “Only E-verify designates the real identification of people applying for jobs.”</p><p>The governor said he'd like to adapt the bill “where it's for farmers only or make the seasons a reasonable season (in) which a loophole couldn't be created for other areas. They didn't do that, and they didn't do that because other industries hopped on what was supposed to be a farming bill. And they did it at the last moment. I mean, this bill was passed very late in the night … with little debate.”</p><p>N.C. Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, said he expects the legislature will override the governor's veto this Wednesday. He pointed out the bill passed both houses of the legislature by large margins and with broad bipartisan support, far in excess of the 60 percent supermajorities necessary for an override.</p><p>Asked about a disaster declaration sought by flood-damaged farmers, McCrory said he will consider the request from the State Emergency Board this week. </p><p>“I'm working with (Congressman) Mark Meadows right now – we discussed this this morning – about how the feds can help us, especially the farmers,” McCrory said. “Also, our DOT, one reason I put so much money in the reserves was so we could fix these (flood-damaged) roads quickly.”</p><p><b>Vendors happy with sales</b></p><p>While McCrory's participation in the parade was an exceptional event, many in the crowd – which festival organizers estimated at 250,000 over the four days – were oblivious that the governor was in the motorcade. Bill and Marty Slack drove three hours from their home in Athens, Ga. to enjoy the Apple Festival, but missed McCrory's presence as they sat in the shade of a store on Main. </p><p>“We attend the Garden Jubilee every year,” said Bill Slack. “We were curious to compare the two.” He said the crowds were “more manageable” during the Jubilee, and the weather more temperate than the mid-80s reached Monday. His favorite aspect of the Apple Festival?</p><p>“Air conditioned buildings,” he joked. </p><p>This was the second year in a row McCrory has attended the Apple Festival. Last year, as a Republican nominee, McCrory worked the crowd at the Kiwanis Club's pancake breakfast. </p><p>Gov. Jim Martin was the last sitting governor to attend the Apple Festival, joining President George H.W. Bush here in 1992.</p><p>While not setting any attendance records, this year's festival was popular enough to keep vendors happy and crowds manageable, said Executive Director David Nicholson. He said the great weather, with all but one storm skirting Main Street, helped boost sales.</p><p>“I had four-day vendors who sold all of their wares in three days,” he said. “I even had a food vendor who'd brought extra this year, and by the middle of yesterday afternoon, had sold everything they brought.”</p><p><i>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>